Gold in the Air of Summer
by underthegreensward
Summary: She has a little bit more than 48 hours with Paige. Only Paige. No parents, no friends, no phones, just them.


Emily is talking to Hanna in the schoolyard, well, actually Hanna is talking and she nods along, enjoying the spring sun grazing her face, when she hears Paige's voice coming from next to her say "I'm sorry Hanna, but I have to talk to Emily." and she's dragged towards the brick walls. "Paige, what are you doing?" she says with a giggle, because Hanna looks after them with an opened mouth and wide eyes.

"You. Me. Stone Harbor. Two weeks from now," Paige breathes out, grabbing Emily's hands. "What?" Looking down, Paige smiles and starts again. "My parents own a small cottage there. They usually rent it out, but they said I can have it for a weekend. Well, _we _can have it for a weekend. It's part of my graduation present. So, what do you say?"

She smiles and squeezes Paige's hands. "I'd love to, but Spencer is still fragile after everything with Toby an-" She doesn't get to finish, because Hanna is standing next to them, offering a soft smile to Paige before glaring at Emily. "No. Your girlfriend just asked you to get away from all of this, with her, for a weekend. Spencer has us, we can deal with her for three days."

"You sure?" She bites her lip and glances back and forth between Paige and Hanna. "Yeah, I'm sure," Hanna confirms with a roll of her eyes. Turning back to Paige, she leans forward to kiss her. "Okay, then I say yes." Just before their lips meet, she sees Paige mouthing 'Thank you' to Hanna.

* * *

When they finally sit in Paige's car two weeks later, she can feel the excitement in her growing, her nerves fluttering and she has to keep from bouncing because from arriving til leaving she has a little bit more than 48 hours with Paige. Only Paige. No parents, no friends, no phones, just them.

Paige rests her hand on her thigh and smiles at her. "If the traffic is fine, we should be there in about an hour and a half." Smiling back at her, Emily takes the hand into her own. "I can't wait." Lifting their hands to her lips, Paige looks back to the road, pressing a kiss on Emily's knuckles. "Me neither."

The rest of the drive is mostly quiet. They barely talk, knowing there's enough time for that later, but they kiss at every red light, because there's never enough time for all the kisses they want.

* * *

She can hear the waves from here, the wind messing up her hair as she climbs out of the car and she stops for a moment to take it all in. The sun that's almost touching the roof tops, the smell of the ocean and then Paige's arms wrapped around her waist, lips being pressed behind her ear, against her cheek, stopping at her shoulder.

"It's perfect," she whispers against the wind and Paige laughs, holding her a little bit tighter.

With their eyes closed, leaning against each other, they stand there, falling in love with this place, with each other.

A few drops of rain fall on them, maybe as a warning, because suddenly it's pouring, to the point where they can barely see the cottage anymore. Paige grabs their bags from the ground, and drags her to the front door, fumbling with the key and Emily can't wait anymore. She starts kissing Paige everywhere she can reach, the rain soaking their clothes, their hair, their skin and Paige still hasn't opened the door.

It finally pops open and she pushes her inside, still pressing kisses everywhere and Paige let's their bags drop to the floor, turning around to kiss her back. Kicking the door closed, Emily tries to get Paige out of her shirt. "You really couldn't wait, huh?" Paige's voice is soft and warm against her lips, rousing the butterflies in her stomach and she shakes her head, opening her own pants and wriggling out of them as Paige leads the way to what she can only assume is the bedroom.

They leave a trail of wet clothes behind them and are naked before they even reach the bed, their lips moving together gently, but always pushing for more. She presses Paige down onto the bed, bracing herself on her arms, pulling back slightly, her mouth just out of reach for Paige's, leaving her waiting for more, with closed eyes and parted lips.

She can't stay away for long, missing Paige's kisses and the way they make her feel. Kissing her again, Emily moves one hand along Paige's ribs, only grazing it, raising goosebumps until Paige shivers and moans into her lips, her hands tangling in Emily's hair.

"I love you." She whispers it into Paige's lips, then her cheek, her neck, her shoulder and her chest between kisses, the grip in her hair tightening, her own hand traveling further down, teasing over Paige's hipbone to the inside of her thigh, dragging her fingernails over the smooth skin there, still kissing, sucking and nibbling at her breasts, Paige's moans in her ears.

Paige tugs at her hair, trying to bring her up to her face and she gives in, kissing a path to Paige's lips. She kisses her, slowly, her tongue teasing along the bottom lip before dipping inside, meeting Paige's tongue. "Please, Em. _Please_." It's an airy gasp into her mouth and she can't resist, her hand sliding up until she is touching even softer, warm, wet skin, Paige arching into her, grasping at Emily's back.

Her lips don't leave Paige's as she slides one finger inside her, rocking down onto Paige's thigh, the sound of their heavy breaths, their moans, Paige digging her nails into the skin of her back and everything else making her want more, _need_ more.

Their breasts press against each other, their kisses grow more and more eager and their pace faster, one finger turning into two, a thumb pressing down and a thigh pressing up, until Paige starts shaking and quivering beneath Emily, hips bucking, back arching, head thrown back, mouth open and it's the most beautiful thing she has ever seen.

It always is.

Slowing down, she places kisses along Paige's neck, still moving against her thigh to relieve the tension that's building inside her.

And then, Paige rolls on top, one knee on either side of Emily, leaving her without anything to get her off. Her chest is heaving as she leans down to kiss with a small grin and starts rolling her hips, Emily's fingers still inside her.

The only thing Emily can do is groan, frustrated and turned on, but Paige guides Emily's free hand down between her own legs, nudging her to touch herself, grinding down again and the groan turns into a gasp.

Her body starts tensing, Paige's hand on her breast, kneading and pinching, moaning into her ear between licks and soft bites as they both spiral higher and higher. Moans and gasps escape her throat and she knows she won't be able to hold on for much longer.

She curls her fingers and they both begin to shudder, their moans growing louder, Paige grinding down harder, Emily's eyes clamping shut as she lets go, her hips moving up to meet Paige's, desperate to get even closer.

She pulls her hands back and Paige into her embrace, pressing kisses along her hairline as her heart stops racing and her breathing slowly evens out. She can feel Paige smile into her neck, kissing it lightly and she knows what's going to happen.

Paige's lips begin to wander down her neck, to her chest where they stay for a while, sucking and kissing, her tongue sneaking out every now and then, dipping into Emily's belly button on the way down and she bites her lip in anticipation.

The kisses reach her thigh and Emily hears her own heart beating loudly, grasping the bed sheets, trying to keep her hips from jerking up, but when Paige settles between her legs, arms snaking around her thighs, she can't help it and Paige has to hold them down.

With one last smile at her, Paige's tongue sneaks out again and Emily forgets how to breathe. One hand lets go of the bed sheet and tangles in Paige's hair instead, her moans and whimpers filling the room.

"_Paige_."

It's the only thing she manages to gasp out, her body tensing and tingling again, her back arching, and when Paige starts humming into her, she's gone. She shakes and trembles, bunching up the sheets, her pelvis thrusting up, heat spreading throughout her body.

Paige holds her down, gently kissing and sucking until Emily stops shaking. She can't move, she can barely breathe and Paige is making her way up Emily's body, finding her lips with a soft, lingering kiss, whispering "I love you." before lying down, her head on Emily's chest, one leg draped over hers.

"That was...", she tries to find words, but fails miserably, her breath still coming out in short puffs. "Yeah, it was.", Paige mumbles, dragging her finger along Emily's clavicle.

When she can finally move again, Emily guides Paige's face up to her own, covering her lips with a kiss, slow and gentle, tongues meeting, hands holding each other close. They kiss to be close, because they want to, because there is no rush to do anything else, because they are in love and because there is nothing else that feels better than this.

Paige stops kissing her after a while, only to look at her, stroking her hair back with a smile. "I love you." Emily smiles back and leans up to kiss her again. "I love you, too." Rolling off of her, Paige cuddles into her side, the rain outside and their breaths the only sound.

"Em, what do you say to ordering Chinese, taking a shower before it gets here and then watching a movie while we eat?" Twirling a strand of Paige's hair around her finger, she grins. "Does 'taking a shower' mean 'showering together'?" Paige laughs into her neck and sits up. "Of course it does."

"Then yes." Sitting up as well, she watches as Paige wraps herself in a sheet, because their clothes are strewn across the floor, probably still drenched. A kiss is pressed on her forehead before Paige climbs out of the bed and leaves the room, hugging the sheet to her, quickly returning with their bags.

She kneels down in front of hers, digging out her phone and Emily doesn't mind, because she is getting them food and probably because she can see her naked back from where she is sitting and it makes her forget a lot of things.

"The regular?" She snaps out of her daze, nodding with a smile, getting up to grab some clothes from her bag, not bothering to cover her body. When Paige has dialed the number, holding the phone to her ear, Emily sneaks up behind her, pressing herself against the naked skin of Paige's back, holding her clothes in one hand, the other sneaking around Paige's waist.

"Hurry up.", she whispers into her ear, kissing it lightly, over and over again until Paige hangs up after ordering with a trembling voice. She turns around and pinches Emily's stomach. "That was mean!" Stealing a kiss, Emily grins and shrugs. "Only a little. So, what about that shower?"

Paige rolls her eyes and takes her hand, dragging her through the hallway and into the bathroom. She gets two towels out of a cabinet, hands them to Emily and turns the shower on. "I forgot to grab my stuff, I'll be right back."

Emily bites her lip as she watches Paige leave, shamelessly checking her out before dropping the towels down somewhere, climbing into the shower, letting the warm water run over her skin, closing her eyes and combing through her hair with her hands.

Nothing feels better than being with Paige. She feels safe, she feels strong, she feels loved.

She is in love.

She hears Paige entering the bath and walking towards the shower, stepping in behind her. Paige starts kissing the back of her neck, her shoulders, behind her ear until she can't take it anymore, turning around to kiss Paige under the warm water, their naked bodies pressing together.

There's nothing more to this, no hands wandering, no hips grinding, just them kissing.

They start washing each other, their hands gentle, careful even, because some moments are fragile and they don't want to break them. Exchanging soft kisses and touches, they stay in the shower until they remember that they ordered food and reluctantly wrap themselves into towels.

Just as they've slipped into their pajamas and respectively sweats, the doorbell rings and Paige hurries to the front door. Emily throws their towels over a towel rack and picks up the bed sheet Paige wore earlier, then a few of the clothes they threw to the floor in a haste to reach the bed, piling them up in the bedroom, just so they won't trip over them.

After quickly spreading the sheet over the mattress, she walks through the hallway to join Paige, reaching the living room. She didn't even notice that it's more of an open-plan living area before and even now she doesn't really care, the smell of food reminding her of how hungry she is.

"What movie are we watching?" she asks, flopping down on the couch. Paige turns around to face her, holding two DVD cases up. "Either 'Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets' or 'Jaws: The Revenge'. I thought we had more here, but looks like I was wrong." Paige's face scrunches into a frown as she looks at the cases in her hands and Emily bites her lip because her girlfriend is so cute.

"I vote Harry Potter." Paige nods, smiling at her. "Okay, Harry Potter it is." Popping the disc into the DVD player, Paige gets up and walks right past the couch into the kitchen area. Emily grabs a spring roll from the table and stuffs it into her mouth, waiting for Paige to come back and sit down, so they can finally start eating.

"I saw that, Em," Paige whispers into her ear, leaning over the back of the couch, handing her a big glass of red wine. She quickly swallows the rest of her spring roll, letting her head fall back to look up at Paige, careful not to spill any wine. "Saw what?" She grins and Paige rolls her eyes, leaning down a bit. Mumbling "You know exactly what.", Paige kisses her lightly, first her lips, then her forehead and then walks around the couch to sit down next to her.

Emily lifts the glass to her mouth and takes a sip, looking at Paige over the rim. The wine tastes good and Paige smiling back at her feels even better.

When she sets the glass down and grabs one of the food containers, Paige does the same, settling against the armrest, her legs in Emily's lap. Once they're all set, she takes the remote, glancing at Emily again. "Everything alright?" Smiling at her, Emily nods her head. "Everything's perfect."

They start watching and eating, laughing quietly every now and then, slowly sipping their wine, Emily feeding Paige spring rolls because she can't reach them. At least she pretends she can't, and there is no way for Emily to resist Paige opening her mouth, nudging Emily with her feet until she notices. And she certainly can't resist the kisses she gets for it.

* * *

She ends up with her head on Paige's chest, tracing her hand over the skin of Paige's ribs, a blanket thrown over them. Everything feels warm and Emily is sure she's never been happier than she is right now.

"I still think the giant spider is worse than the basilisk." she murmurs as the film is almost over. Paige answers with a hum. "Paige?" Another hum. "I love you." Paige hums a third time and Emily has to laugh, pushing herself up to look at her face. "Let's get you to bed," she says with a kiss and gets another hum in response. Laughing again, she kisses her and gets up, taking Paige's hand to drag her off the couch.

She lets herself fall into bed, waiting for Paige to crawl under the covers with her. Brushing their teeth together turned out to be pretty hard, simply because they were too distracted by each other, trying to kiss while brushing, their hands wandering beneath pajama tops and shirts, sleepy giggles filling their ears.

Paige tugs off her sweats, lying down next to her in just a shirt and panties. "No pants?" Shaking her head, Paige scoots closer, burying her face in a pillow. "No pants. Too tired." Smiling to herself, Emily kisses her shoulder and pulls the sheets up and around them. She drags her finger over naked thighs, until Paige turns to lie on her side, opening her arms and Emily gladly takes the invitation.

Kissing her good night, her arms wrap around Paige's waist, holding her close, never wanting to leave her embrace.

* * *

She wakes up to lips being pressed behind her ear, a hand trailing up and down her front, her back against Paige's chest. "Good morning." The lips drift down to her neck and she can feel them smiling into her skin. "Morning," she answers, keeping her eyes closed.

"So, what do you want to do today?" Paige asks, her voice low and warm, her hand stopping just below Emily's breast, moving over her ribs. "I kinda like doing this." Laughing, Paige drags her earlobe between her teeth and slides her hand just a bit further up. "You do?"

A finger circles her nipple, kisses showering her shoulder and neck and she hums out her response. "We could go swimming. There's a nice pool not far from here," Paige whispers, her hand slowly making its way down again, nails scraping over Emily's skin. "And then we could go to the beach here and have a picnic," she breathes into her neck between kisses, teasing along her hipbones, reaching her pants. "Sound good?" Her breath hitches and she nods, Paige's hand passing the hem of her panties. "Great." With that, one finger slips inside her and Emily gasps, one hand tangling in her pillow, the other grabbing Paige's thigh behind her, pulling her closer.

Paige's kisses against her neck are wet and hot, but slow, matching their rhythm and her moans. She spreads her legs a little further and a second finger joins the first, curling up, her hand squeezing Paige's ass.

She starts trembling as Paige starts sucking on her shoulder, grazing the skin with her teeth. Her hips buck forward, needing one last push and then she is shaking against Paige, everything else slipping away.

* * *

When she wakes up again, the place next to her is empty, but she can smell pancakes and coffee. She gets up, walking to the bathroom to brush her teeth and use the toilet. The thought of Paige waiting for her in the kitchen, baking pancakes, making coffee crosses her mind and she catches her own smile in the mirror.

Paige is standing in front of the counter, still not wearing pants, her shirt ending right above her butt, leaving Emily staring at it as she walks up behind her. She sneaks her arms around Paige's waist, looking over her shoulder.

"Look who's awake again," Paige says and turns around, resting her hands on Emily's shoulders. "It's not my fault that I fell asleep again." Laughing, Paige leans in and kisses her softly. "I can't say I'm sorry."

Emily pulls back, raising one eyebrow. "Really?" She gets a smirk and another kiss. "Really." Gripping Paige's thighs, she lifts her up and on the counter. "Well, then..." She leans in to kiss her, lips crashing together and Paige knocks an empty pot down, trying to steady herself.

Emily's hands move up, one stopping at Paige's hip, one at her breast. Not wasting any time, she slips her hand inside the panties and the sound that Paige makes is probably her favorite. Their kisses grow sloppier, Paige's legs wrapping around her waist, and when she slides her hand lower and two fingers in, she changes her mind about her favorite sound.

Speeding up, she feels Paige tensing, legs pulling her even closer, hands knocking something else over, mouth opening against hers and she presses her thumb down. Paige lets go with a gasp, her whole body quivering, her grasp on Emily's shirt tightening.

She's breathing fast as their lips meet again and Emily slows down, dragging her hand up to her waist, squeezing gently. They kiss, slow and long, until Paige stops shaking.

"I'm still not sorry," Paige mumbles and she laughs. "Me neither." Helping her down from the counter, she kisses her again before washing her hands and sitting down at the table full with pancakes, strawberries and sliced bananas.

Paige sits down across from her, cheeks still slightly red and all Emily wants to do is to kiss her again and again. Instead she digs into her food and takes her hand, because Paige is too far away for kissing. "These pancakes are delicious," she says around a mouthful of them and Paige smiles at her, swallowing a strawberry. "Thanks. So, swimming and then a picnic?"

Nodding, she picks up another strawberry, holding it in front of Paige's mouth, waiting for her to open it, just to pull away every time she does, until Paige has had enough and grabs her arm, taking the strawberry between her teeth, closing her lips around Emily's fingertips for only a second. She can feel her own breath stuttering and she forgets to chew. "Okay, let's finish breakfast and do the dishes, then we can go." Paige's voice is sneaky, like she knows exactly what she did, but her face is completely innocent, except for the tiny smirk that tugs at her lips.

Doing the dishes with Paige is different. It's fun, it feels like they're home and it makes her think of their future together. Actually, everything makes her do that lately.

* * *

They swim a few lanes, racing each other, splashing water, not caring about the few people around them, Paige pressing her against the pool wall when she wins, kissing her softly. They make out in the shower room, stumbling into one of the cabins, their giggles and moans muffled by lips, trying to hush their sounds with kisses, hands roaming and hips rolling.

On their way back, they stop for ice cream and coffee, sitting down on a bench outside to let the sun warm their noses. She tries to remember the last time they did that, with out being scared or in a rush and she knows it has been far too long. With a glance at Paige, she promises herself that it's never going to be that long again. "I love you." Paige leans over and kisses her with a smile that tastes like chocolate. "I love you too."

* * *

The sound of the waves crashing and Paige's heartbeat are the only things she hears. It's already dark and they have been lying on this blanket for hours, first eating, then kissing, cuddling and talking about everything that crosses their mind. Her head is lying on Paige's chest, their hands tangled, a second blanket wrapped around them, keeping out the cold air of this evening.

"Em? What does your future look like? I mean, what do you want it to be?" It's an unsure whisper, Paige's fingers gripping hers more tightly. "Happy. Safe." She pauses for a while "I just want to get away from everything that has happened. Move on, you know?" Paige nods and presses a kiss into her hair before pushing them both up to sit, wrapping her arms around her knees.

"What about you? What is _your_ dream?" Paige stares in direction of the waves, inhaling deeply. When she turns to look at Emily, her eyes are filled with unshed tears, glinting in the clear moonlight. She can feel her own heart beating steadily as she waits for Paige's answer.

"You."

It's like all air escapes from her lungs at once and her hearts stutters, then starts racing. "You are my dream. You have been for so long and it scares me. It scares me because high school is almost over and then we'll live so far away from each other that I can't see you everyday. We can't kiss at every red light. We can't hold hands while eating breakfast or cuddle while we do our homework. I can't hug you when you're sad or angry or simply because I want to."

She falls silent, the tears slowly rolling down her cheeks. "What if you meet someone new?", she whispers, her voice breaking and Emily can't take it anymore. She grabs her face, wiping her thumbs over the tear tracks, leaning her forehead against Paige's.

"Stop. Stop. I know it's going to be hard and all those things changing is scary. But there are things that aren't going to change. Just because we can't kiss all the time doesn't mean we don't want to anymore. I want to kiss you and hug you and hold your hand and wake up next to you every day. And as long as you feel the same way, we'll get through this. I want _you_. I can't see that changing."

Paige covers her hands with her own and inhales shakily. "I love you so much." It tears at her heart and she leans in further, kissing Paige with all the love she feels, hoping it's enough, because it's all she can do, the hot tears falling onto her face. "I love you too."

It's a fragile moment and she tries not to break it.

* * *

They walk back home hand in hand, never wanting to let go. When they are inside, they take their time, leaving the picnic basket and the blankets in the kitchen, their way leading directly to the bedroom, where Emily stops to look at Paige.

She leans in to kiss her, slowly, without any rush. They tug their clothes off, each new piece of skin is covered with kisses and they fall into the soft bed, kissing and touching everything they can reach. Nothing fits between them as they rock against each other, their breath mingling and their hearts beating together.

They both shake, gasping and moaning, sharing a kiss filled with their want, their love, their hopes, pushing them higher and closer than ever.

The whispered "I love you's" feel like promises.

* * *

She wakes up, her body tangled with Paige's and her heart sinks at the thought of leaving today. "We still have seven hours left, you know?" Paige mumbles into her skin and she can't help the smile that's takes over her face, sliding down Paige's naked body, leaving kisses everywhere.

Seven hours left and she wants to make the most of them.

* * *

The sky is clear and the spring sun warms them just enough to make her think they're not crazy as she strips down to her underwear, her toes digging into sand and she holds Paige's hand just a little bit tighter.

Reaching the water, waves nipping at her feet, she shivers. "Why did I agree to this again?" Paige laughs and bends down, splashing some water in her direction. "Because I'm right and you love me." Her teeth begin to chatter, but that doesn't stop her from smiling. "Wow, I must really love you," she says and lets go of Paige's hand to rub her arms, trying to get warm.

"Yeah, I know." With that, Paige snatches her up and carries her a few feet, Emily shrieking and laughing when she let's them both fall into the cold water. Gasping for air, they come up again and she clings to Paige, swaying with the waves. "Hey." Wrapping both arms around her waist, Paige leans in until their noses touch. "Hi."

They kiss and Emily notices that she doesn't feel cold anymore. She feels warm and safe and home. Waves crashing around them, bags already packed and a future full of scary changes and big distances waiting for them, she feels home.


End file.
